The term malingering has a negative connotation, in that it is considered to intentionally project exaggerated physical and/or psychosocial symptoms for the purpose of gaining some external rewards/secondary gain. The present article will review a number of misconceptions about malingering, as well as the inherent problem in objectively measuring this construct. It will be suggested that a more comprehensive biopsychosocial approach should be used to evaluate potential barriers to recovery, as well as suboptimal performance that may delay, or prevent, recovery over an expected time period for musculoskeletal pain disorders. Such an approach will eliminate the common misuse and misdiagnosis of the construct of malingering.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.